iPlant Undergraduate Summer Research Opportunity

Undergraduates interested in applying their quantitative science or biology background to problems in plant biology are invited to a 2010 summer research opportunity. The iPlant Collaborative is supporting an Interdisciplinary Computational Thinking and Plant Biology Research Program for Undergraduates (Interdisciplinary UBRP-CT). This is a 12 week paid summer research experience (roughly $300/week) with many additional enrichment activities (more info). The program takes place at the beautiful University of Arizona campus in Tucson. Additional stipends for travel, room and board are included for students who are not from the Tucson area. Students majoring in computer science, mathematics, management information systems, statistics, engineering, physics, plant sciences, or plant-related biology and who are US citizens or permanent residents of the US are eligible to apply. The application deadline is Feb. 1, 2010.

Interdisciplinary UBRP-CT is supported through the iPlant Collaborative an interdisciplinary, NSF-funded initiative to build a cyberinfrastructure to facilitate solving grand challenge problems in the Plant Sciences. This program offers students an opportunity to work on a cross-disciplinary team applying their skills to a research problem at the forefront of Plant Biology. Students don’t need any specific background, just a desire to apply their current knowledge and skills to problems in plant biology.

Students must be willing and able to arrive on the UA campus on Sunday, May 16 to participate in UBRP-CT orientation on May 17, 2010. Round trip airfare will be provided from the visiting student’s home institution to Tucson and an allowance of $100/week will be provided for living expenses in Tucson in addition to wages earned for working in the laboratory. Students are required to submit a letter of recommendation from a college professor in their major and an official transcript as part of the application. If accepted, students must also provide proof of fall 2010 enrollment at their home institution and proof of US citizenship (or permanent residency) in the US.

Please share this information with your undergraduate students; applications are especially encouraged from (but not restricted to) students of underrepresented groups. Note the Feb. 1, 2010 deadline.

Please contact Carol Bender if you have questions about this program.